Closable pouring spout and an axially slidable cap moving a plug thereon for liquid containers



Oct. 4, 1966 M. KESSLER 3,275,540

CLOSABLE POURING SPOUT AND AN AXIALLY SLIDABLE CAP MOVING A PLUG THEREON FOR LIQUID CONTAINERS Filed March 8, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 2

I N VENTOR Milton Kessler ATTORNEY 3,2 76,640 MOVING A M. KESSLER Oct. 4, 1966 CLOSABLE POURING SPOUT AND AN AXIALLY SLIDABLE CAP PLUG THEREON FOR LIQUID CONTAINERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 8, 1965 v 6 9 w x O 3 2 mwmwmu 4 i 4 3 N\\\\ g IYIhHHP 3 5,) 3 M 7 w w Q 3 5 6 w F F INV EN TOR Iron Kessler ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,276,640 CLOSABLE POURING SPOUT AND AN AXIALLY SLIDABLE CAP MOVING A PLUG THEREON FOR LIQUID CONTAlNERS Milton Kessler, 4535 Grove Drive, Youngstown, Ohio Filed Mar. 8, 1965, Ser. No. 437,768 3 Claims. (Cl. 222-525) This invention relates to a dispensing closure for use with bottles of liquid material which is dispensed in small quantities during use, such as liquid detergents, cleaning fluid, shampoo, etc. These materials are often sold in bottles, which may be glass or may be plastic squeeze bottles, and in use, a small quantity of the contained liquid is supplied, as by inverting the bottle or also by squeezing it, in the case of plastic squeeze bottles.

It is a major object of the present invention to provide a closure of this type which is sufiiciently tight so that the container may be shipped without any special precautions, but which may be opened and closed by the user by a simple push-pull motion to change it from the open to the closed position and vice versa. It is a primary object of the present invention to provide such a cap and closure which may be made of plastic materials, and which requires no more than two separate parts, which may be readily assembled, and which provides an absolutely safe seal for transportation of the liquid material.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a cap and closure comprised of only two separately molded pieces, each of which may be molded in simple reciprocating dies by a single stroke of the die, and without any expensive undercutting or multipiece die action being required.

The specific nature of my invention as well as other objects and advantages thereof will clearly appear from a description of a preferred embodiment as shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a cap according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 22 of FIG. 1 showing the cap plunger in the closed position;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the cap in the open or pouring position;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a modified form of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 4 with the plunger in closed position; and

FIG. 6 is a similar view with the plunger in open position.

The cap 2, preferably of molded plastic, is shown in FIG. 2 threaded onto the neck 4 of a fluid container, which may be a glass or plastic bottle, or may even be in the form of a tin can, as is well known. The cap 2 is provided with a sealing flange 6 which engages the lip of the neck 4 in fluid-tight relationship, or alternatively, any other type of sealing arrangement may be employed to make a fluid-tight connection between the neck 4 and the cap 2. The central portion of the cap has an upstanding cylindrical element 7 which has an internally rounded thickened portion as shown at 8 merging into an upper cylindrical portion 9 having a somewhat thicker wall than the cylindrical portion 7.

Sliding plunger 11 is provided with a top central aperture 12 into which merge fluted apertures 13 cut into the wall portion 14 of the central aperture. Cylindrical cup 16 is dimensioned so that thickened cylinder portion 9 fits slidably therein, and the lower portion 17 of each fluted recess 13 extends down into the passageway formed by the thickened cylindrical portion 9 of the cap 2. However, between the adjacent fluted portions 13, the wall 14 extends down to plug 20, which is molded integrally 3,276,640 Patented Oct. 4, 1966 therewith, so that plug 20 is connected to wall 14 except where the fluted apertures 13 (which may be more or less than four in number) are located. It will thus be seen that in the open position shown in FIG. 3, fluid can pass from the interior of the container through tube portions 7, 8, and 9, and fluted apertures 13 into the central portion 12 and then pass outside of the container. A blind hole 23 is bored into the center of the plug 20 merely to provide resilience as will be explained below, but otherwise does not provide any passage for fluid. When it is desired to close the cap, the plunger 31 is pressed down into the position shown in FIG. 2, whereupon plug 20 resiliently engages thickened portion 8 of the cap cylinder to provide a seal as shown at 21, since the thickened portion of the plug engages the thickened portion of the cylinder circumferential-1y. A blind hole 23 aids in providing the resiliency necessary for the plug to be forced past the smallest diameter of the thickened portion 8. To open the dispenser for pouring, it is only necessary to grasp the plunger 11 and pull it up into the position shown in FIG. 3.

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 show a slight modification of the preceding embodiment, and corresponding parts, wherever they are essentially the same, are labelled with reference characters exactly 20 digits higher than those shown in FIGS. 1-3; for example, the cap 22 in FIG.'4 corresponds to the cap 2 in FIG. 1, and the plunger 31 corresponds to the plunger 11 in FIG. 1, and so forth. The difference between the two embodiments is that in the case of FIGS. 4-6, instead of blind hole 23, a diametrical slot 43 is provided, which in effect bisects the plug 40 and extends completely from side to side thereof. This also aids in.

providing the necessary resiliency, and in this case, the plug 40 should be so dimensioned that in both the open and the closed positions, it remains in sealing contact with the thickened portion 28 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 respectively. However, in the position shown in FIG. 5, the slot 43 does not extend beyond the point of sealing engagement of the plug and the thickened portion 28, and hence no fluid can pass out of the container. In the position shown in FIG. 6, the slot 43 is sufliciently deep so that fluid can pass up through it and into the chamber 25 and then through flutes 33 out through aperture 32.

It will be noted that both elements of the cap are so arranged that they can be formed in simple plunger dies having a straight reciprocating motion only. The slight undercuts and protrusions, which have been exaggerated in the drawings for the sake of clarity, readily permit withdrawal of the die parts while the unit is still warm immediately after it has been formed, by a slight dilation of the plastic portions, which quickly recover their original shape by plastic memory as the material cools. It will be noted that the entire cap and closure comprise only two plastic parts, with no additional liners or other elements required, and therefore provide a very satisfactory sealing and dispensing closure at the lowest possible cost.

It will be apparent that the embodiments shown are only exemplary and that various modifications can be made in construction and arrangement within the scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A plastic cap for a liquid container comprising (a) fastening means for fastening the cap to a pouring neck portion of a liquid container;

(b) sealing means for sealing the cap in liquid-tight manner to the neck of a container on which the cap is fastened;

(c) a hollow tubular element rising from the top of the cap and providing fluid communication from the inside of the cap to the outside;

(d) said tubular element having an internally thickened portion providing a smaller internal diameter than the main portion of the tubular element;

(e) a cap-like plunger element surrounding and axially slidably mounted on said tubular element and having a plug extending down into said tubular element;

(f) said plug being resiliently compressible and slightly larger in diameter than the internal diameter of said thickened portion, said plug also having a maximum diameter less than the internal diameter of the main portion of the tubular element;

(g) said plug blocking the transmission of fluid in one axial position of the plunger by filling the tube at said thickened portion;

(h) said plug allowing the passage of fluid between it and the walls of the tubular element in another axial position of the plunger; and

(i) at least one aperture in the top of said plunger permitting the passage of fluid from the interior of the tubular element when the plunger is in said other axial position.

2. The invention according to claim 1, said plug having a blind bore in the bottom thereof to increase its lateral resiliency.

3. A pouring spout for a liquid container comprising (a) a plastic cap having a top portion,

(b) a hollow tubular element rising from the top of the cap and providing fluid communication from the inside of the cap to the outside,

(c) said tubular element having an internally thickened portion providing a smaller internal diameter than the main portion of the tubular element,

(d) a cap-like plunger element surrounding and axially slidably mounted on said tubular element and having a plug extending down into said tubular element,

(e) said plug being resiliently compressible and slightly larger in diameter than the internal diameter of said thickened portion, said plug also having a diameter less than the internal diameter of the main portion of the tubular element,

(f) said plug blocking the transmission of fluid in one axial position of the plunger in which the plug engages the thickened portion in sealing relationship,

(g) said plug allowing the passage of fluid through said tubular element in another axial position of the plunger, and

(h) at least one aperture in the top of said plunger permitting the passage of fluid from the interior of the tubular element when the plunger is in said other axial position,

(i) said thickened portion sloping gradually from the internal diameter of the main portion of said tubular element toward a circumferential area of minimum internal diameter, and back again toward a larger circumferential diameter, said plunger sloping oppositely from a minimum diameter to .a maximum diameter which is slightly larger than the minimum diameter of said thickened portion, and back again to a smaller diameter, said plunger being movable from said other axial position to a point where said plug passes said point to maximum compression by said thickened portion, but remains in sealing engagement therewith, to firmly retain the plug in its sealing position,

(j) said plug having a transverse slot therein which extends from the bottom thereof up to a point short of its maximum diameter, whereby fluid can pass through said slot to the outside of said tubular element when the plunger is in said other axial position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,717,728 9/1955 Gray 222546 2,785,839 3/1957 DuPree 222-546 X 2,834,520 5/1958 Nyden 222-525 3,120,910 2/1964 Nyden 222525 3,157,323 11/1964 Kitterman 222525 X 3,201,013 8/1965 Porter et al. 222525 FOREIGN PATENTS 955,574 1/1957 Germany.

ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner. WALTER SOBIN, Examiner. 

1. A PLASTIC CAP FOR A LIQUID CONTAINER COMPRISING (A) FASTENING MEANS FOR FASTENING THE CAP TO A POURING NECK PORTION OF A LIQUID CONTAINER; (B) SEALING MEANS FOR SEAING THE CAP IN LIQUID-TIGHT MANNER TO THE NECK OF A CONTAINER ON WHICH THE CAP IS FASTENED; (C) A HOLLOW TUBULAR ELEMENT RISING FROM THE TOP OF THE CAP AND PROVIDING FLUID COMMUNICATION FROM THE INSIDE OF THE CAP TO THE OUTSIDE; (D) SAID TUBULAR ELEMENT HAVING AN INTERNALLY THICKENED PORTION PROVIDING A SMALLER INTERNAL DIAMETER THAN THE MAIN PORTION OF THE TUBULAR ELEMENT; (E) A CAP-LIKE PLUNGER ELEMENT SURROUNDING AND AXIALLY SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON SAID TUBULAR ELEMENT AND HAVING A PLUG EXTENDING DOWN INTO SAID TUBULAR ELEMENT; (F) SAID PLUG BEING RESILIENTLY COMPRESSIBLE AND SLIGHTLY LARGER IN DIAMETER THAN THE INTERNAL DIAMETER OF SAID THICKENED PORTION, SAID PLUG ALSO HAVING A MAXIMUM DIAMETER LESS THAN THE INTERNAL DIAMETER OF THE MAIN PORTION OF THE TUBULAR ELEMENT; (G) SAID PLUG BLOCKING THE TRANSMISSION OF FLUID IN ONE AXIAL POSITION OF THE PLUNGER BY FILLING THE TUBE AT SAID THICKENED PORTION; (H) SAID PLUG ALLOWING THE PASSAGE OF FLUID BETWEEN IT AND THE WALLS OF THE TUBULAR ELEMENT IN ANOTHER AXIAL POSITION OF THE PLUNGER; AND (I) AT LEAST ONE APERTURE IN THE TOP OF SAID PLUNGER PERMITTING THE PASSAGE OF FLUID FROM THE INTERIOR OF THE TUBULAR ELEMENT WHEN THE PLUNGER IS IN SAID OTHER AXIAL POSITION. 